The case involving the alleged stabbing death of Fatoumatta Kargbo by Arona Tine, a Senegalese national, in West Field has been transferred to Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court of the Gambia, as designated by the Chief Justice of the Republic, Hassan B. Jallow.

The Gambian Police Force (GPF) indicted Arona Tine on a charge of homicide in violation of Section 187 of the Criminal Code, an offense that carries a penalty of Section 188 of the aforementioned code. Fatoumatta Kargbo, an employee of HM Bureau Exchange in Westfield, Kanifing Municipality, was allegedly fatally knifed by Arona Tine on January 19, 2024, according to the police.
Arona Tine appeared before Principal Magistrate Sallah Mbye of the Kanifing Magistrate Courts on Monday. Due to jurisdictional insufficiency, Mbye transferred the case to the High Court of the Gambia. Arona Tine was held in remand at the Mile 2 Central Prison pending the outcome of the High Court hearing.

Kerr Fatou has obtained information indicating that on February 13, 2024, the High Court will hear its inaugural mention of the case. Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, who has presided over several of the nation’s most prominent cases, is scheduled to superintend over the proceedings.

A case in point was State vs Yankuba Touray, a former minister of local government and member of the military junta, for which Justice Jaiteh imposed the death penalty on Touray for the heinous murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay, the former finance minister of the Junta Regime.
The manslaughter case involving Sainabou Mbye, Cherno Mbye, and Kibilly Dembelly, who were charged with two counts of manslaughter and exposing minors in violation of the Criminal Code of the Gambia, was another high-profile case handled by Justice Jaiteh. The Attorney General’s Office, on the day the defendants were scheduled to present their defense, dismissed the case.

Justice Jaiteh is presently supervising a number of additional prominent cases, including but not limited to those involving homicide, graft, and theft.

One of them is the murder trial of Ousainou Bojang and Amie Bojang at the Sukuta Jabang Traffic Lights on September 12, 2023. The defendants are accused of shooting and murdering two officers of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) and injuring another.
The corruption trial involving three officials of the Ministry of Health of the Gambia, including its Permanent Secretary Muhammadou Lamin Jaiteh, is another. It is valued in the millions of dalasis. Under the Economic Crimes Act and the Criminal Code, they are charged with 19 counts of official malfeasance, failure to fulfill statutory obligations, conspiracy to commit a felony, and economic crimes.